CA1130250A - Automatic confection packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

An automatic conveyor packaging apparatus for high speed packing of frozen confections in containers with provision for interaction between product conveyors carrying confections from a confection manufacturing process and a conveyor carrying empty cartons to be loaded with these confections. Provision is made for interrupting the flow of confections from the manufacturing process to the packaging apparatus without necessity of stopping the manufacturing process. The mechanism provides for placing the confection pieces in rectilinear arrays within cartons and includes inhibiting mechanisms to prevent improper loading if certain portions of the apparatus malfunction.

Description

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1 Field of the Invention ; . .
This invention relates in ~eneral ~o automatic pro-cessin~ and p~ckaging of ~oods and more particularly to a con- I :
veyor packaging apparatus for high speed packing sf frozen confections in containers~

~ackground of the Invention Automated systems have been developed for the pro-. cessing of various types of frozen confections in assembly line fashion to produce a~tomatically, and at relatively high speed, frozen confections for the consumer market. Such apparatus includes, for example, various types of ice cream extruders, sticking machines, slicing machines and chill tunnels, all arranged to provide for assembly line processing in which ice I cream or other frozen confection is extruded or shaped, frozen ; and enrobed with chocolate coating and even top decorated with candy or additional frozen chocolate or the like. Machines of this type are described, for example, in U.5. Patents 3,857,252; ~ :~
3,822,623; and 3,761,213. Such processing lines provide for . substantially continuous operation with an uninterrupted output 20 flow of completed confections. 1-One frozen confection which has recently found response in the retail consumer market is a small, perhaps one inch by one i. half inch by one h~lf, size confection formed of ice cream with I chocolate coating and top decorationq For retail consumption j, these bite size pieces are packaged in cartons These cartons 'j have included most us~ally an array of eigh~ or ten confection ~ Ai1 pieces or a three by four compartmented array of confection pieces. Typically the carton may be fomed from blown extuded Il plastic~ The compIeted conection pieces pass through a con-. -2-~ I

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1 ! tinu~u6 assembly line process which $s initiated at an extruder i, !
; in which i~e crea~ i~ e~truded and ~liced into small pieces onto ¦ ~onveyor e~rying plates, ~hich transport the soft iee cream ! pieces through a freezing tunnel for carefully controlled dwell times to freeze the pieces to appropriate hardness. After leaving this initial freezing tunnel~ the frozen ice cream pieces are passed through a chocolate enrober which completely coats e~ch piece with chocolate and the pieces then are passed thro~gh an auxiliary chill tunnel to harden the chocolate coating. The final stage in the processing invovles conveying the now frozen chocolate covered pieces under a top decorator to provide for top decoration, for example, by forming wiggly chocolate lines or decorative confection lines on the top sur~ace. In this final stage the rectangular confections are, of necessity, aligned with i their long axis parallel to the direction of movement of the con-veyor. In a typical configuration there are four columns of con-fection arriving at the end of the top decorating stage of the , assembly.

j Since this confection manufacturing process is essen-tially continuous, it i8 necessary that all of these processing stages, as well as any subsequent stages, have the capacity of handling the confections at the same production rate. A high production rate is, of course, advantageous and the production for bite size frozen confection pieces is typically 600 pieces ¦ per minute emerging from the end of the conveyor line at the top ~! decorator ~tage.
~ The finished confections are packed in rectilin~r ¦ arrays in the previously mentioned carton~. At the present time ¦l this is acc~mplished in a manual pro~ess employing fifteen or 30 1 i _ . t 1 ~3¢ ~

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1 ', mcre packers ~t the ena of the as~embly line to pack in~o cartons ! the ~ix hundred conf~ctions per ~invt~ c~ming off the assembly ¦ line. Such an expenditure of labor ~on-~titutes a subs~antial cost component in the overall pricing of the co~fections.

The present invention is directed to apparatus for automatically conveying and packing frozen conf2ction pieces into rectilinear arrays in a container (e.g., a carton including a ~onfecti~n tray~ suitable for retail distribution. The apparatus is designed to operate at high speed wi~h a minimum of operator involvem2nt. Provision is made for isolating the initial manu-facturing ~tages of the production process from the packaging process so that any interruption in hte packaging process does not back up the entire assembly line of the confection manufac- i turing process itself. Ad~itionally, provisions have been included to enable replacement of high wear components, without ' extensive disassembly of the apparatus.

Summary of the Invention Broadly speaking, the present invention provides an apparatus for automatically packing individual frozen confection 20i pieces into rectilinear arrays within containers. Confection pieces are received rom the output of a confection production apparatus which provides on a continuous basis a number, typi-cally four, of parallel columns of the confection pieces at rela- I
tively high speeds. The packaging apparatus of the lnvention , includes at its input a parallel series of hiyh speed conveyor li I belts, each operating within a railed lane, with the lanes ¦ generally aligned with the output columns from the confec~lon production machi~eO The input to the packaging machine may be , taken directly fro~ the outpu~ o~ the confection processing line, 113~`Z~;O

1 i' or there ~ay be included an intermediate conveyor link to ,, transport ~he individual con~ectio~ pieces from the production !i apparatus to the p~ckag3ng apparatus- ~his latter arrangement is advantageous when the intermediate conveyor linlc is arranged so that it can interrupt the flow of confectioll pieces and divert them to a collection dump in the event of di5ruption of the packaging process. Such a dumpable intermediate conveyor link insures that an interruption of the packaging process does not back up the confection production procéss throughout that produc-tion assembly, particularly where the process is a continuousone.

, In the packaging machine of this invention, each of the high speed confection product conveyors is carried in a lane across a thin flat deck to terminate at a stop position, or loading location, with the stop position for each of the lanes being displaced from one another in the direction of movement of the conveyors. The individua} confection pieces emanating from each of teh columns of the confection production machine are j carried by each high speed conveyor to the stop point where they ! accumulate or queue within the lane, one closely fitting behind the other in the direction of movement of the conveyor. The con- ¦
! veyor belt has a low friction ~pper surface so that when the con- ¦
; fection pieces reach the lane stop, the belt slides beneath them allowing the columns of confections to deadhead without damaging the bottom surface of the confection pieces themselves.

A second convey4r f7r carrying cartons to be packed ~with the confections passes underneath the product conveyor lanes at right angles to their direction of travel. This second con-veyor carries a number, typically four, of par~llel lanes o~ car-I i ! !
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1 , tons arranged with their interior rows (~hich may in some cases ! ~e defined by compart~en~ divi~ers~ parallel to the direction of !; travel o~ the high speed confection Ianes. As each individual ~ i , carton reaches a position beneath the edge of one of the high speed confection lanes, it is moment~rily stopped while a mecha-., nical actuator is stroked to ConYey a preselected number of con-fection pieces from the termination stop position of that individual lane to a position overlying the empty compartment of the carton moving at right angles to it, from which position it is lowered into the carton. Each carton is then moved forward again a fixed distance to position another empty space beneath the confection loading position. The confection-filled cartons are then furthe~ transported by the carton conveyor to a point where a paddle apparatus, operating generally transverse to the direction of travel of the carton conveyor, rakes the illed car tons from this conveyor into an output chute.

As will be described in greater detail below in connec-tion with the description of a preferred embodiment, a number of advantages can be achieved for this machine, in terms of ! simplifying the mechanical actions and the timing, if the spacing between cartons proceedign ser~ally along the carton conveyor is made equal to an integral multile of the spacings between centers of the rows of confection within the compartments of the cartons themselves. Additional advantages may be achieved when the 6pacing between the high-speed confection lanes is also made ¦l equal to an integral multiple of thi~ center spacing be~ween con- ¦
¦~ fections within the cartonsO It should be noted that the~
¦I multiple can be different for the spacing between the high speed ¦i confection lanes and for the spacing between the cartons as they 1 are proceeding alon~ the car~on conveyor. For example, the . I

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1 I multiple ~ight be a ~actor of one between 6erial Cart~fn pOSitions on the carton co~veyor and ~e ~ d~fferent mu~t~ple, ~or example, two for the spacing ~etween the high peed confection lanes.

The particular advantage which derive~ from this care-ful spacing arrangement is that individual loading heads or ele-ments for ejecting the confections from each lane onto ~he underlying carton may be actuated simultaneously by a single actuating mechanism. By programming selective inhibition of individual loading elements so that they do not convey ~he con-fections from their respective lane on a given stroke, theapparatus can provide for the elimination Of the loading function when the gap between cartons underlies ~ partic~lar confection lane termination position.

When the spacing between th~ high speed confection lanes is also an integral multiple Of the center spacing of the I 't confections within the cartons it ensures that when a compartment in one carton is positioned to receive an ejected confection from one high speed lane, cartons on the other rows of the carton con-veyor will be positioned such that either a compartment will be20 il precisely located to reCeive a confection from another lane or I; Will be preci5ely positioned so that there is the center of a " between cartons gap in the reCeiving position at the time of , stroke actuation of the pusher mechanisms. SuCh a spacing arrangement provides, then, that the loading mechanisms for all four high speed lanes are in fixed phase relation with 811 four columns of the carton conveyor~

¦¦ Brief Description of the Drawings I! Fig. 1 is an il~ustra~ion in perspective view of a I packa~ing apparatus cons~ructed in aecl~rdas~ce wi~h the principles ¦
30 I of this invention;

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! ~l 1 1 Figs. 2 and 3 are plan views of a portion oP the apparatu~ of F~

~ ig~ 4 is a per~pective vie~ of t~e belt conveyor system employed in the apparatus of Fig. ~;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the element of Fig, 6 taken along line 5-5;

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a loadin~
head element of the apparatus of Pig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of the actuating mechanism of the apparatus of Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is a per~pective view of the actuating and control mechanisms Por the loading head elements of Fig. 6:

Figs. 8a, 8b and 8c are plan views and timing diagrams ~f the cams illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8;

Figs. 9(a) t~rough 9(f) illustrate the sequential actions of the loading head element of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 illustrates the switching cam configuration for i the apparatus of Fig~ l;

, Fig. 11 is a plan view of the arm actuating and 20i' latching me~hanism of the apparatus of Fig. l;

~; Figs. 12 and 13 are schematic illu~trations of cir- ¦
¦¦ cuitry employed in the apparatus of Fig. 1 and Figs~ ~, 15, 16 and 17 are views o a conveyor link ¦
included in the appa~atus ~f ~ig. 1: ~nd 3;~

i 1 I Figs~ 18 and 1~ are views of the index drive mechanism for the transp~rt c~nveyor ~f Flg. 1.

Description of Preferred Embodiments . General Fig. 1 is an illustration in perspective view of the packaging apparatus of this invention. The apparatus includes a container transport conveyor 11, consisting of a series of parallel rows of container pockets moving on a chain driven endless conveyor drive from a container loading platfor~ 21 passing under a confection loading sub-assembly 6, thence to a container removal mechanism 14 and then returning to the loading platform 21. A high ~peed confection product conveyor system 12 i8 located just above the plane of the containers carried on the container transport conveyor. The product conveyor system 12 consists of a series of high speed conveyor lanes 23, 24, 25, and 26 oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel of the con-tainer transport conveyor 11, each lane incl~ding an endless belt for carrying individual confection pieces from the output of the confection production apparatus towards respective lane ter-mination positions, 15, 16, 17, and 18. Termination position 15 is located so that three confection pièces in the loading posi-, tion adjacent to it are directly aligned over one column of the container transport conveyor 11 and each of the remaining product , conveyor lanes i~ displaced across the transport conveyor 11 so i' that its lane ter~ination loading position is directly aligned ¦ with a row of containers ~topped beneath ito o~ated just above the plane of the high speed conveYor I
~¦ deck i~ a loading head assembly 31 for, moving the three confec- !
¦l tion pie~es in each lane'& terminating position from ~he product 1~ i g_ , ~
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1 l, dec~ 22 to a position above a co~partment of the container l! stopped beneath it on the contalner transport convey~r 11, and ', ¦' then to lower the confection pieces into that compartment. For , each lane termination ~oading position there is a pusher arm 30 ,: pivoted at the top and carrying a loading h~ead 31 at its lower end. The motion o~ the pusher arm 30 is controlled at a first mechanis~ deck 35 which is positioned vertically intermediate the product deck at the plane of the high speed transport conveyors 12 and the second mechanism deck 34 supporting the top of the individual pusher arms 30. Each loading head 31 includes clamping and ejecting mechanisms which are controlled at the second mechanism dec~.

In operation the individual compartmented containers are loaded onto the container transport conveyor 11 at the loading platform 21 and are then carried in an interrnittent flow !
operation underneath the loading assembly 6. Since the high speed conveyor 12 is operated at considerably higher speeds than ~
the transport conveyor 11, several confections are positioned at I
each lane termination loading position quickly enough so that as l each row of each of the containers is stopped underneath the loading assembly, it is filled with confections from each of the lane termination loading positions.
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The loaded containers are then further transported until they reach the container removal device 14. This latter ¦¦ unit consists of a conveyor carrying ~ series of paddles 39 which mov~ at an angle with respect to the direction of motion,~f the container transport conveyor and 6erve to sweep the individual containers from their pockets toward ~n output chute 40, where ~ th y can be re~o~ed for shipment or the Ii~e. ~ typical r~te of -10- ' I

1 ~.produc~ion of frozen ~onfections from a confecti~n product ¦
assembly line is 6ao pieces per minute, with the 600 pieces arranged in four lanes~ In the present ~pparatus three confec- ¦
tion pieces are loaded ~imultaneously into each container at each of four container columns so that twelve confection pieces are I ,~
loaded at a time. The se~uencing of the pusher-loading asse~bly, the high speed conveyor movement, the container transport con-veyor movement and the container removal device are all synchro-nized by means of a sensing and control syf~tem which is not 10 explicitly shown in this figure. Each of the sub-assembly systems de~cribed will be discussed in greater detail below.

Conveyors - Generally i Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the individual confections are transported to a loading position along product conveyor tracks 23-26, which begin and end at staggered locations along the direction of travel of the confec-tions, so that the path leng~hs along each lane are e~ual.
Immediately below the staggered lane termination positions is disposed the carton conveyor 11, constructed and arranged (as 20~ describ2d in further detail below~ to intermittently transport parallel columns of confection cartons in a direction perpen- ¦
: dicular to the direction of movement of the confection conveyors. ¦

,; As above described, the general operation of this ! system is that a 6eries of four separate loading heads ~not illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 are actuated sim~ltaneously, and in timed sequence with the movement of the carton conveyor 11, to carry a plurality of confections from each of the staggered loading points, 1~ through lB, o~t over a ~topped carton so that ¦the confections ~i~ be lDwered into appropriate locations in the ~

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!j 1 li carton A~ can ~e apprec~ated, ~he tr~nsfer di~tance from the ¦, confections int~ the carton shou~d ~e kept at a minimum. For i! this reason, the pro~uct deck 22, definin~ plane of the prod~ct conveying tracks 23-26 over which the confection conveying belts 110-116 travel, is a very thin te.g. 1/8 inch thick) sheet of .............................................................. !
. metal (e.g. aluminum). The carton conveyor 11, and the cartons conveyed thereby, are spaced c}osely adjacent the underneath sur-face of that sheet metal deck so that the transfer distance of the confections from the loading locations into the cartons is o kept to a minimum.

The conveyor belts 110, 112, 114, and 116 that deliver the individual confections to each of the loading locations 15 through 18 are operated at speeds that assure a que~e of confec-tions at each of the loading locations so that ther~ will always be sufficient confections to fill the momentarily stopped cartons on the carton conveyor 11. As described in further detall below, a photoelectric sensing system is incorporated into each loading head as a further assurance that there are sufficient confections :
at the loadin~ location to fill an entire row of the associated carton on ~he carton conveyor at the appropriate time. If at any ; loadin~ point, there is not a full charge of confections, the 1 loading head operation is inhibited so that no confections are ! delivered to that particular row of that particular carton. The i absence of an entire row of confections in a carton is easily jj discernable by inspectors af~er the filled cartons leave the jl apparatus.

Down ~tream along the carton conveyor 11 from the loading ~o~ations 15 through 1~ there is provided a rake off I ~eYice ~ for remov~ng filled carton~ from the carton conveyor 11 li i ~3~
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1 I and delivering the~ ~o chute ~0 via which they leave the car-I toninq apparatus~ The rake off device 14 is itself a conveyor ~,j having a conveyor chain ~upporting a 6eries of paddles 3~. The , paddles are driven at an angle with respect to the carton con-veyor and have a component of motion in the sa~e direction as the carton conveyor and a component of motion transversely across the carton conveyor. The component of velocity in the direction of the carton conveyor is equal to the velocity of the carton con-veyor. The rake off conveyor 14 is driven in timed relationship with the carton conveyor 11 such that each paddle of the rake off conveyor will sweep a single transverse row of cartons from the multiple-column carton conveyor and deposit those cartons onto ! the chute 15.

Carton Conveyor Referring more particularly to the carton conveyor 11 it will be seen that the conveyor comprises a series of slats 144, carried on a conveyor chain 145 each slat supporting four spaced apart compartments having leading ribs 146, trailing ribs 148, and floors 149 into which a carton 150 is manually placed -, upstream of the confection loading locations. A guide device 152 disposed above the cartoning conveyor immediately preceeding the loading locations forces the cartons 150 downwardly and rear- I
wardly to precisely position each carton on the floor 149 of its compartment and against the trailing rib 148. Such precise posi-j tioning i important to achieve proper timing of the ejection of ¦I confections from the loading locations in order to drop properlY
I¦ into the desired location~ of each individual carton 150.
¦I Dividers 151 assure horizontal alignment of the cartons.
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j ~5 i8 further evident fro~ ~ig~re 2, there is a uniform ¦
I, and ~reci~e spacin~ between adjacent carton-carxying ~la~s 144.
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l!j It as preferred tha~ thi~ spacing be such that the distance bet ween the last row of confec~ions ~n a given carton ~50 and the first row of confections in the next car~on on the carton con-veyor be an integral multiple of the inter-row spacing within a carton. With this arrangement, the loading hlead inhibit system (described elsewhere herein) can selectively inhibit each loading heat operation at suitable times to prevent ejection of confec-tions when there is no empty carton row disposed therebelow to receive the confections. In the preferred embodiment lD illustrated, each carton has three rows with a center-to-center spacing of "Al' and the spacing between slats 144 is such that there is a separation of ~2A" between the center of last row of a given carton and the center of the first row of the next carton.
With this arran~ement, therefore, every fourth stroXe of each loading head will be inhibited in order to accommodate the between-cartons gap while achieving the desired filling of car-tons with confections.

The conveyor chain 145 is driven through an indexing drive mechanism, illustrated in Figs. 18 and 19, from a synchro-20 nous motor drive ~not shown), to provide a precisely timed move-ment. The high speed conveyor 12 may be driven fro~ any convenient drive source. As will be described hereafter, various other elements of the system are driven from the same synchronous~
~ motor drive as the carton conveyor 11.

I $he rake off conveyor 14, is driven at a controlled peed ratio from the ~arton conveyor 11 drive, the speed ratio being determined by the angle of motion of the rake of conveyor with respect to ~he direction of travel of the carton conveyor.
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1 ~' Pr~duct Conveyor System ~he con~ection product c~nveyor lZ o~ the cartoning ! apparatus includes four separate parallel conYeying tracks 23 26, each track disposed intermediate confection guide rails 108.
Each of the four ~eparate tracks defines a run of one of the four ; conveyor belts 110, 112, 114, 116, best seen in the somewhat schematic illustration of Figure 4O As is evident from Figures 1 through 4, the tracks corresponding to the four conveyor belts are of equal length but terminate at staggered positions, 15 through 18. This staggered arrangement of the confection con-. veyor tracks leads to an efficient and high speed transfer of the ; confections from the product conveyors into cartons supported on ;
the carton conveyor which moves in a direction perpendicular to that of the confection product conveyors.

The confection conveylng tracks 23-26 are disposed intermediate a series of rollers 118 about which all conveyor belts are trained and a series of staggered pulleys 120a-120d~
The remainder of each conveyor belt tr~k is a return path designed to facilitate the removal and replacement of belts 110, 112, 114, and 116 without major disassembly of the cartoning apparatus. A further constraint on the return path for conveyor belt is that each of the belts 110-116 has a low friction ~e.g., ,, polytetrafluoroethylene) coating on its upper surface in the con-~
j, veyor tra~k where the confections are actually conveyedO The ¦~ return path must be ~uch that thi~ low friction .urface will ¦ always be facing up for ea~h of the belts llC, 112, 114, ~nd 116 as they traverse the con~eying track segmen~s 23-26. "' After leavlng the pulleys l~Oa-12~, the belts have an i upward run perpen~icuiarly aw~y from the carton conveyor 11.

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. i 1 ~ Four series o pulleys 122a-122d, 124a 124d, 126a-126d, and 128a-. 128d de~ine a path portion that includes two ~0 tllts ~clockwise in the directi~n of belt travel) o~ the plane of the belts in order to reach a ~eries of pulleys ~30a-130d spaced apart both laterally and vertically from the ~onfectic)n conveying track segments 23-26. This arrangement frees the ~pace above the con-: veying track segments 23-26 for the equipment necessary to operate the mechanis~ that actually transfers the c~nfections from the conveyor belts 110, 112, 114, and 116 to the cartons.
The belt trac~s intermediate the pulleys 130a-130d and a spaced apart roller 132 include a drive roller 134, which is coated with a material having a high coefficient of friction and which is driven by a motor s~fficient to impart conveyor belt speeds substantlally greater than those of either the dump conveyor or the carton conveyor tboth described elsewhere herein). Two series of pulleys 136a-136d and 138a-138d are provided adjacent the drive roller 134 in positions to insure belt contact with the drive roller over at least 180 of the drive roller circum-ference. The pulleys 138a-138d are spring loaded toward pulleys 136a-136d to maintain suitable tension in the individual conveyor , belts.

; The final portion of the conveyor belt return path from the roller 132 to the roller 118 is via two series of pulleys 140a-140d and 142a-142d. A 90 tilt of each conveyor (el~ckwise in the direction of travel) occurs between the roller 132 and the respective pulley 140a-140d and between the respectîve pulley 142a-142d and the initial pulley 1~8.

A~ will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the li c~nfecti~n convey~r arran~ement a~ described immediately above 30 Il' I~ --16--1: 1 ~ r~
1 pr~vides a conveyor return path that dses no~ interfere with !l other portiDns of the ~rtonin~ apparatus (e~g ~ the carton : !l conveyor~; provides for the nonstick cbnveyor surface to be facing upwardly during the conveyoring track portions 23-26; pro-¦
! vides for an open space vertically above the track portions 23-26 ... .. .
~, to facilitate placement of other apparatus at that location; and , permits the removal and replacement of conveyor belts 110-116 witho~t major disassembly of a packaging apparatus (e.g., without disassembly or moement of the carton conveyor).

Since there is a req~irement that the conveyor belts must slide under the confections carried on these, when the con-fections are q~eued at the lane terminates portion then the belts;
1~ themselves cannot have any perturbation in their upper surface.
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A perturbation such as a seam required to join a belt together on replacement would scuff the under~ide of the confection pieces making them an unacceptable product. Accordingly these conveyor belts must be endless and therefor require a pulley system, such as shown in Fig. 4, which allows new endless belts to be mounted without disassembly.
,. . i I Loading Station Assembly .
As discussed previously, the general organization of the packaging apparatus involves a lower product deck 22, a first mechanism deck 35, a second mechanism deck 34 and a top deck 33.
' The operation of the loading heads, 31 which transfer qroups of ¦ confections pieces from the queue at the loading ~ta~ion into a ~arton positioned b~neath it involves the lower three dec~s 22, 35 and 34O In general term~, each of the four confection loading mechanisms includes an arm 30 that carries a loading head 31 at the product deck level. The arm 3~ is pivotally supported for ~L~31~ Z~i~
1 small angle s~inginq ~o~i~n at the deck 34, and is moved by an , actuating ~echanism ~upported at the ~irst ~ech~nism deck 35.
Since the four ar~s 30a, 30b, ~Oc, and 3~d are identical in construction and operation, a single arm will be described in detail.

The arm 30 is trunnioned at the second mechanism deck 34 for movement in a plane perpendicular to the direction of motion of the confection product conveyor 12 and parallel to the .
direction of motion of the carton conveyor 11. The actuating and timing system, mounted on the mechanism decX 35, is described in detail hereafter. The actual loading head 31, carried by the arm 30 is disposed adjacent to the product deck 22 at the loading location (as best seen in Figs. 5 and 6~.

~ Referring to those figures, it will be seen that the j }oading head 31 defines 2 generally ~U-shaped" channel for receiving a plurality of confections 153. The channel is defined by a pair of lateral elements 154 and 156 and an end element 158.
The depth of the channel is chosen, relative to the length of the ~: confections 153 such that the number of confections that will fit into a row of a carton 150 will be the same as the n~mber of con-fections that fit in the ~U-shaped" channel of the loading head 31. In one typical carton configuration this number is three.
j; ~he lateral member 154 is supported by a vertical tube 30 and the 1. lateral portion 156 is supported by a second tube section 502.
i The end element 158 is secured to the lateral portions to provide a stop member allowing ~he confections 153 to accumulate ~o that a charge of three oonfections is within the loading head 31~ !
Preferably, the ~urface 1~8A i~ ~rmed of a nonstick ~ateria} ~ !
I facilitate the sliding of the chocolate-enrobed confections 1~3 I re~atiYe thereto.

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1 ~he light sources 302 are mounted ~n member 156.
i Similarly the 1iqht sensors 306 are supported within the lateral !' element 154 in aliqn~ent with the light ~ources 302. Openings 166 in the lateral elements 156 and 154 as well as in gripping elements 503 and 505 permit light to travel from the sources 302 .~, !
to the sensors 306. The positioning of the light source/light sensor pairs is such that a series of properly positioned confec-tions 153 will interrupt the light bea~s and thus the output of . the photosensors 306 can be used as an indication that the loading head is full of confections and there~y permit the loading operation to continue, or conversely, will indicate that the loading head 31 is not completely filled 80 that the inhibit mechanism can be operated to prevent actuati,on of the loading head.

Based upon a timlng cam and an actuator device at the first mechanism de~k level 35, the arm 30 is stroked to traverse a one inch lateral movement at the time an empty row of a carton is substantially below the edge of the product deck 22. TKe cam is designed such that a dwell of the loading head 31 in the extended location is provided in order to permit the confections 153 to be ejected from the loading head. The timing and , actuation mechanism then returns the loading head to the con-figuration illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6.

, If, at the time when actuation of a given loading head ¦,31 should occur, any light emitter 302 and light sensor 306 pair I! detects the absence of a confec~ion at the 2ppropriate loc~tion, ¦ithe ~ignal generated i6 employed las discussed below) to inhibit !~ the stro~e ~ ~}~e lo~ding head 3~.
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30 jl !
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1 The ~pper sur~ace of the high speed conveyor 110 is i coated with a low friction~ nonstic~ material such that the con-¦~ veyor can move rela~ive to the ~tationary confections 153 that ~re queued up behind the deadhead abutment face 158a. As a series of three confections 153 is transpozted laterally by the loading head 31 for depositing in a carton, the next confection in line will abut the end face 168 of the lateral element 154.
Upon return of the loading head to the config~ration of Figs. 5 and 6, the queue of confections 153 will aclvance ~nder the influence of the conveyor 110 until the fir~t confection of the ~ueue abuts the face 158a, thereby returning the situation to . that depicted in Fig. 5.

Still referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that a pair ' of guide rails 108 are disposed along the lateral edges of the j. conveyor 110 upstream o~ the loading head 31. An end face 108a of the guide rai} 108 is spaced apart from the opposed end face 156a of lateral member 156 and from the trailing edge 153a of the ' trailing confection in the loading head, in order that ~he trailing confection will not inadvertently contact the rail 108 - as the confection fs transferred into the carton, and disrupt the loading operation. Furthermore, the face lOBa is provided with a rounded corner 108b to further guarantee against a confection getting caught on structure of the rdil 108 and preventing proper ¦
loading into the carton.

I The details of the elements of loading head 31 are ¦ shown in Fi~s. 5 and 6, while the control and actuating mechanism for these elements is shown in Figs 7 and 8. Fig. 9 is an .
illustration of the ~equential operation of the loading head 31 I in trans~rring c~nfection pieces from the high speed conveyor ¦
¦ into e~pty co~par~ments of the cartons.
¦ . !

3L:L3~5~ :
1 ! ~ith reference to ~igs. 5 and 6 each of the loading ¦ heads 31 i~ carried on a pusher ~r~ ~ube 3~, which is suspended from a pivot point at ~he second mechanism deck 34. The arm 30 ; includes second tube members 50~ and these tube members carry on them movable elements, generally referred to as grippers and ... .
strippers. The function of the gripper el-ements is to grip three confection pieces 153 at a time at the lane termination point and carry them, as arm 30 is stroked, from the loading platform 2~ to a position over the compartment of the empty container adjacent to the lane termination position, and then to lower the confec-', tion pieces to a position iust above the container compartment itself. At this point in the sequence the stripper elements are actuated to eject the confection pieces from the gripper elements and deposit then into the container compartment itself. The pusher arm 30 is then ~troked back to its original position ', overlying the lane terminatlon point.

Each gripper element is formed of, a generally rec-tangular plate 503 s~pported at the bottom of the tube 30 and extending in a horizontal directiun a distance slightly more than the length of three confection pieces, and at the bottom of the other tube 502 there is located a second plate 505, generally î parallel to plate 503, but ~egmented lengthwise into three inde-,,pendent pieces 505A, 505B, and 505C. Each of these segmented ,plates is independently spring loaded in the direction of the first plate 503, by individual spring elements 506A, 506B, 506C.
~his arrangement permits each of the individual confection pieces ~t the lane termination points to be gripped, allowing for some ariation ln the t~ickness of the confection piece itself.
~!
¦, Since, ~s i~ illustrated in Pig, 9, ~he gripper ele-ILent~ are r~uired ~o ~ove not only in a direction toward and Il -21-1 l, away from each otherv ~u~ o in ~ Yertlcal direction along the axis of the Sube 30 and 502, both the long plate 5~3 and the .' segmented plate 505 are su~porte~ fro~ co~lar pieces 508 and 509, . which are slidably pos~tioned on the tubes 30, the vertical posi-tion of these collar elements, and hence the vertical position of ' the gripping plates being controlled by control rods 514 and 514a which are actuated by a mechanism which, as will be discu~sed below, is located on the upper or second mechanism deck 34.

The action of the individual spring elements 506 provi-. des a component of force and motion for the indlvidual segmented plate elements 505 in the direction of the longer plate elements 503. The limit of travel of the segmented plate elements 505 in this direction is established by means of a stop element including an adjustable screw 524, and block face S25 which is formed as the inner portion of the collar 508. As is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 9, the gripper plates 503 and SOS are spread apart in the lane termination loading position by virtue of the edge of the product deck 22 bearing against the inner por-tions of the segmented plates 505, thereby allowing sufficient clearance for the confection pieces 153 to pass between the longer plate ~03 and each of the individual segments 505A, 505B, ' and 505C. ~ -The ~tripper elements are formed of a set of ejection ~ plates 517 and 519~ located adjacent to the gripper elements.
jlThe single ejection plate 517 extending the length of three con- ¦
fection pieces is ~lidably retained above the inner face Q~ the gripper element 503. The segmented ejection plate 519 (having .
three porti~s 519h, 519B and 519C corresponding to 6imilar 1! segments of the gripper plate 5~5) is positioned above ~he inner ll

2-I faces of the ~e~entfi of plate 5V50 These ejeetion plates 517 ¦¦ and 519 are arranged to ~ove vertically in relationship to both !! the fixed tube element~ 30 and 502 ~nd to the corresponding Il gripper elements 503 and 505. The vertic~l movement of the :~
Ij stripper elements is controlled by actuating rods 515 and 515a, .. ~ I ..
also operated from the second mechanism deck 34.

~ he ~equence of the movement of the gripper and 'I. stripper elements is most clearly illustrated in the sequential ~ series of Fig. 9. The entire loading head 31 is initially posi- I
10 , tioned over the lane termination position of its corresponding 'i lane with the jaws of the gripper elements maintained in an open position by the interaction of the edge of the product deck 22 , with the segmented gripper plates 505, thereby allowing confec-, tion pieces 153 to pass between the opposing faces of the gripper ¦ elements (Fig. 9a). As will be described in more detail below the entire sequential operation is timed by a series of cams on the first and second mechanism decks operating in conjunction i with tbe circuit elements illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 as above I~ stated. When an appropriate point is reached in the equence, , the pusher arm 30 is stroked outwardly, provided thst the photo-cell sensors provide an output indication that there are three confection pieces aligned behind the deadhead at the termination ¦
point of ~he lane. This stroking action allows the gripper ele- ¦
ments 503 and S05 to grip the confection pieces, because the segmented plate 505 is now urged by the spring against the con-fection pieces, since it is no longer being stopped by the edge cf the product plate 22. Arm 30 swings the loading head 3i into a position ~ust above the compartment of the container compart-ment to be filled ~Fig. 9b~. The containers are moved on the container tr~nsp~rt ~onveyor ~1 in intermittent motion, such that

3~

1 ~he con~ey~r ~ps m~n~r21y ~ith a ~ompartm~nt ~iacent to and !~ below the edge of the prod~ct deck 22 at each lane termi~ation ~! position.
. 1 ! Once the loading head 31 is positioned above the com-partment of the container 150, the gripper elements 503 and 505 and the stripper elements 517 and Sl9 are moved in unison down-wardly toward the container 150 so th~t the confection pieces 153 . are now poised just above the compartment itself (Fig. 9c). At this point in the sequence, the stripper elements 517 and 5~9 are independen~ly moved downwardly relative to the gripper e:Lements 593 and 505, forcing the confection pieces from the gripper ele-ments and ejecting them into the compartment of the container . be}ow (Fig.9d). Once this is accomplished, first the gripper elements 503 and 505 move the stripper elements upward while ele-ments 517 and 519 remain down to insure positive stripping (Fig.
9e). Then the stripper elements are retracted back into their original upper position, and the pusher ar~ 30 is swung back into its original position preparatory to receiving the next set of confection pieces tFig. 9f).

The sequence of the above ~otions is controlled by a series of three cams, which operate cam ollowers and push rods.
The cam 200 which controls the stroking of arm 30 is located on , the first mechanism deck 35, wh;le the cams 610 and 611 ! controlling the operation of the stripper and gripper elements j are located on the upper mechanism deck ~4.

Pusher Arm Actuation and Inhibit Mechanism Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the act~ation mechanism ¦
providing the ~tro~e mo~ement to each of the individual pusher I arms 30aJ 3~b, 30c, and ~0d. The purpose of the mechanism is to ~3~
1 stroke the ar~s simu~taneous~y forwar~ in the direction of the carton conveyor 11 movement each time that the carton conveyor l'mechanis~ has advanced the cartons one carton row width, A. In -the present embodimentt th~ distance that the loading head 31 is to move is 7/3th of an inch. Since the head 31 is carried on the ;
end of arm 30 pivoted at the top to the second mechanism deck 34, ; and since the actuating mechanism 220 is locatedat the first mechanism deck 35, approximately halfway down the length of that arm then the actuating stroke itself need only be 7/16th of an ¦ 10 inch. The actuating mechanism is formed of a light weight generally rectangular frame 220 made up of two aluminum angles 221 and 222 and two aluminum tubes 226 and 228 contain linear anti-friction bearings 212a, 212b, 214a, and 214b. This frame traverses linearly on hardened steel rods 213 which ~re supported on the product deck 35 by mounting block~ 241a, 251b, 252a, and 252b. The frame member 220 is urged forward in the direction of movement of the arms 30 by the force of a tension coil spring 210 attached at the rear to the frame 220 and at its front end to the mechanism deck 35. The position of the frame member 220 is ' controlled by the rotary position of cam 200 interacting with cam follower 216/ which ls carried on cross member 227 fixed across the rectangular frame member 220. The cam 200 is itself carried on shaft 2~1 which is supported at one end in pillow block 256 and driven at the other end by the main mechanical drive. As ¦ will be explained in more detail below in the section on i~equencing and timing, ~haft ~01 is driven in ~uch a relationship ¦with the carton conveyor indexing drive that cam 200 ro~ates 360 ¦during the time that the carton conveyor is stopped.

The cam follower 216 in~eracts with the shape of the Ica~ 2~0r as illustr~ted in Fig~ 8A, 80 that at rotational posi-, 1, .

~ I -2~-1 !.tion 0 the foll~wer 216 falls of the cam surface allowin~ the spring to urg~ the ~rame 220 rapidly ~orward in the direction of movement of the carton conveyor. At a rotational position of approximately 35 the follower 216 i~ in corltact with the cam 200 urface which is shaped so that it maintains the frame 220 in its forward position for a stroXe dwell time sufficiently long to allow the confection to be ejected from the loading head 31 to the underlying compartment in the container~ At the end of this period, which occurs after approximately another 75 of rotation of the cam 200, the cam curface is shaped to commence movement of the frame 220 in the opposite direction restoring it to its original rest position after approximately 185 degrees of rota-tion from its starting point, a position which it continues to occupy through the remainder of the cam rotation cycle until it is urged forward again at 0 to commence the following cycle.

The motion of the rectangular frame 220 is coupled to the individual carrier arms 30at 30b, 30c, 30d through a series of pusher elements 230, 232, 234, and 238 respectively. Each of these pusher elements is compl$antly coupled to the frame 220 by 20 , means of relatively 6tiff compre5sion springs 246 and collars 247. Since the placement of each of the load carrier arms 30 is staggered ~orresponding to the ~taggered position o~ the loading positions 15, 16, 17 and 18, then each of the pusher elements :230, 232, 234 and 238 differ in length. In order to facili~ate the support ~f the ~hortest pusher element 238, and to prevent interference between ~he fron portion of frame member 220 and ~l the arm 30d, this short pusher element 238 is supported on`a !separate carrying member 242.

j ~or e~cb cycle ~f the cam 200, then, the frame 220 Imoves rapialy f~r~r~ 7~16th ~f an ~nch wit~ the pu~her elementS

i ' 1~3t'`~51~

. .
1 ¦ 230, 232, 234, ~3~ also ~imultaneously strok~ng forward this same ; distance. After a ~hort dwell time at this forward position the i frame 220 i~ retracted back to its original position where it remains until commencement of the next cycle. By positioning of ; the cam 200 on the shaft 201, the phase relationship between the ... ..
forward stroking movement of the frame 220, the stopping of the cartons below the loading stations at the product deck, and the operation of the grippers and strippers, can be related so that each confection piece ejected from the product deck loading sta-tions 15, 16, 17, and 18 wlll be deposited directly into the center of the appropriate row in the underlying carton. Exact phasing of this relationship is preset at rest.

Fig~re 7 shows a detail in plan view at the first mechanism deck level 35 of the carrier arm 30a, including the detail of the connection between it and the pusher element 246.
Also included in the view of Fi~. 7 is an inhibit latching mechanism 270.

As indicated in the drawing, Fig. 7, the load head carrying arm 30a moves forward and back at each stroke in a slot 259 in the first mechanism deck 35. Just above the height of the first mechanism deck 35, there is affixed to the load carrying arm 30a a split blocX 258. The pusher element 246 passes through . a collar 262 which is fixed to pivot pin 261. The pivot pin 261 " extends throuqh a hole 264 drilled in the front of the split liblock 258 in a direction perpendicular to the axis of movement sf i jlthe arm 30a. The pusher element 246 i5 coupled to the collar 262 Iby means of a relatively stiff compression spring 266, which : llrests against retaining collar 267 fastened to the pusher ele-~ent. When the pusher ele~ent 246 i8 stroked forward, and when : 30 i Il -27-i! ' 1 I latch ~echani~ 270 i~ not engaged ~llowing Eree movement of the ¦ arm 30a, the motion ~f pus~er ele~ent 246 cou~led thr~ugh the ! ~pring 266 carries the split block 258 and henee the arm 30a f~r- !
ward, rotation of the pivot pin 251 allowing for the slight arcuate movement of the arm 30a which is pivoted above at the .. , i second mechanism deck 34. It should be noted that the mass of the confection pieces, the loadinq head 31 and the carrier arm 30a is quite small, so that unless the arm 30a movement is posi-tively inhibited it will move with the motion of p~sher element 246.

As previously indicated, each of the load head carrying ;
arms 30ar 30b, 30c, and 30d have associated with it inhibit latch mechani~m5 270a, 270b, 270c, and 270d. Eac~ of these inhibit latch mechani~ms may be selectively operated 80 that, in the energized position, they inhibit the motion of the associated carrier arm 30 from a forward stroke. When such an inhibit action takes place, the corresponding pusher element, for example, pusher element 246 in the case of arm 30a, moves forward compressing ~pring 266 without producing any forward motion of l~the arm 30a and its associated split block 258.

!: The operation of the inhibit latch mechanism, will now be described in conjunction with the arm and in terms of the ' latch mechanism 270a. The basic ele~ent of the latch mechanism ! 270a ~s an electrically operated air valve 271~ such as that sold !
i by SRINNER under a designation solenoid opera~ed normally closed ~3-way valve. Such valves provide fo~ a pneumatically operated ¦ ~ylinder stroke in respon-~e to a received electrical 6ignal.
Referring to Fi~ure 11, the inhibit latch mechaniEm 27~a is shown I `

Iwith it~ la~ching e~emen~ 27~ i~ the forward engaged position in ¦ 2B~
Il I

2~

i: :
1 I which it latches with the front edge of a hardened ~teel latching ! block 275 attached ~o the ~plit bl~ck 2~8. In this position for- j ward moYement of the carrier arm 3~a i~ restrained. The actuating mechanism o~ this latch includes a piston head 276 6troked by the action of ~he air valve 271. A hardened ball 277 on the front of piston head 276 is maintained in intimate contact with a wear plate 27B on latch pivot arm 280, which carries the latching element 274. A spring 282 connected between the latch ; pivot arm 280 and the housing of the air valve 271 urges the latch pivot arm 280 toward the piston head 276. Thus, in the normal, unactuated, position, the latch element pivot arm 280 i5 , retracted by the action of this spring away from the engaged position and latch element 274 is clear o~ stop element 275 on ! block 25~, permitting free movement of the carrier arm 30a.
Hardened stop 285 allow~ for precise adjustment o the stroke of latch element 274 relative to latching block 275.

In summary, then, each time the cam 200 strokes the frame 220 forward, the pusher elements stroke forward their asso-ciated carrier arms 30 unless a~ electrical inhibit signal has been transmitted to the corresponding air valve, thereby engayina the inhibit }atch element to prevent forward motion of the con-verted carrier arm. The basis for selective inhibition of the j carrier arm movements and the programming of it is described '~ below in connection with the timing and sequence controls.

5eq~encing and Control System PigO 1~ is an illustration in generally diagrammaeic form sf the timing disk arrangement which cooperates with the circuitry schem~tically illustrated in Figures 12 and 13 to pro-vide for sequencing ana control o~ the pacXaging apparatus. As ?~

1 I, shown in ~ig. 10, a pair of rotating disks 301 and 303 are sup-~l ported on 6haft 30~. Shaft 3a5 is driven in fixed time relation with the drive which drives the actuator cam shaft 201 so that the disks 301 and 303 complete one complet~e revolution each time cam 200 completes one 360 revolution. Disk 301 is a larger diameter than disk 303 and includes a notch 301a within it. A
sensing element 32S i5 positioned to sense the passage of the notch 301a. Sensor 326 includes a light emitting diode 327 posi-tioned on one side of the disk 301 and a phototransistor 328 positioned on the opposite of the disk 30 so that, when notch 301a passes through sensor 326, light from the diode, which is normally blocked by the disk 301 from reaching the associated photo-transistor, passes through, turning on normally off rel~y 347. The function of this trigger signal from timing disk 301 is to actuate all of the sensor pairs at each of the loading posi-, tions to to determine whether or not the queue at each loading ; position is fully loaded. Accordingly, this ignal should be produced just before the actuating stroke which occurs at the . zero degree position on the cam 200. Thus, disk 301 would typi-cally be set to generate its ~read" signal from sensing mechanism i 32~ at a cam rotational posit;on of approximately 345.

The second disk 303 is somewhat smaller in diameter and it includes a tab 303a extending fro~ its perimeter sufficiently !i to pass through a second aensing element 330~ wi~h the tab inter--j cepting the light beam fr~m the liyht emitting diode 331. This beam is normally transmitted to the correspondinq phototransistor 332. The resulting loss of signal provides a reset signa~..to ¦1 open a set of contact~ unlatching any self-holding relays in the ¦I circuit which may have been actuated during the course of the ¦¦ cycl~. T~is eYent i~ ti~ed to occur ~omewhat before the ~read~ !
Ii 1.i I ~

1 l signal ~n the operating ~ycle and w~uld therefore typically be I set to occur at 330~ rotational position on the cam 200. It should be noted that each o~ the disks 30l and 303 can be lnde-! pendently adjust~d in rotational position on the spindle 305 forprecise phase and time ~ettin~
... .
As illustrated in Fig. 10, a third disk 304, is driven through a four to one reduction drive system 307 from the spindle 305. This third disk 304 is again arranged with a cut out notch 304a within it, and has positioned around it, at approximately gO
degree intervals, four sensor elements 310, 314, 318, and 322. '.
Each of these sensor elements include a light e~itting diode and a phototransistor with the light beam normally interrupted by the disk 304a and providing a pulse signal only when notch 304a passes beneath it. The purpose of disk 304 is to provide an inhibi~ signal to each selected one of the inhibit mechanisms.
Since this disk 304 completes one revolution eYery four cycles, it provides for inhibition of one carrier arm 30 per cycle thereby allowing each one of the arms to skip one stroke every four cycles, when the between cartons gap is located at the construction lane loading position.

A schematic diagram of the circuitry of the sequence and control system of the packaging apparatus is illustrated in Figures 12 and 13. A power supply 380 is supplied with alter- I
' nating current voltage, typically 110 volts at one pair of ter-. minals 380a and produces a DC QUtpUt voltage, typically S volts ¦ at a pair of DC output terminals 3BOb. The direct curren~ output voltage is applied acro~s a genera} ladder network including all of the Iight emitting diode element5 302 and all of the..pho-, totransistor element~ ~6 ~f the product position sensing pairs, 1~ ~

3~ 0 1 ! as ~ell as the ~ensor elements which cooperate with the timin~
!, ai6ks 301r 303~ and 30~. ~hus, DC vol~age is supplied a~ross light emitting diodes 302a throu~h 302~, which diodes are posi- !
tioned to provide three sensing beams through confection posi-tions at the loading station 15 for lane one. Si~ilarly diodea 302d through 302f supply the light ~eams for ~he loading station 16 at lane number two, diodes 3029 through 302j provide the light beams for the loading station 17 at lane number three, and ; finally, diode~ 302k through 302n provide the light beams for the loading station 18 at lane number four.
; The phototransistors for lane number one are tran-sistors 306a, 306b and 306c. These three phototransistors are ; connected in parallel and the parallel array of the three pho-totransistors is connected ln series with relay 341 across the DC
voltage outp~t terminals 380b. An additional transistor 312 is placed in parallel with tran~istors 396a, 306b, and 306c and has light supplied to it from li~ht emitting diode 311~ This addi-tional transistor is physically located within sens~r 310 on the ; skip disk 304. The circuit arrangement îs such that, if light is received at any of the above four phototransistors, relay 341 is energized. If this occur~ when read relay 347 is energized, the electrically actuated air valve 390 is energized to aotuate the inhibiting latch for the carrier arm 30a positioned above the first lane.

il Relay 351 i6 connected between point 399, which except for the ~hort duration reset time, carries 110 volts AC for the duration of each cy~le, and through two sets of normally open contacts 341c and 360 to the other side of the 110 volt line.
i Contacts 341c are closed by t~e actuation of re~ay 341 and the 1~ ~13CZr-1 l~ contacts 36~c are closed whenever the relay 347 which is actuated~
I once every cyc1e by ~he read disk 301, ~ enerqized.
!' !
' Each o f the other lanes have corresponding sets of l ~
~ relays, light sources, and phototransîstor~ to control the , :
i actuations of the inhibit latches 391 through 393 for lanes tWQ
through lane four respectively.

As illustrated in the circuit diagram of Figs. 12 and 13, normally off read relay 347, which is turned on by the 1 ~ .
passage of the cut-out in read disk 301 at 345 rotation, itself closes contacts 347c to actuate a number of repeater relays 360 ! through 363. These close contacts 360c through 363c, supplying voltage to one s~de o the normally open contacts 341c, 342c, 343c, and 344c respectively. I~ then any of the phototransistors , are receivlng light when read relay 347 is energized, actuating current is supplied to the associated one of the alternatlng current relays 351 through 354. These alternating current relays 351 through 354 provide for a self-holding feature in that they turn on the corresponding ~et of contacts 351c, 352c, 353c and 354c maintaining themselves actuated until a reset signal opens contacts 349c to unlatch all of these holding relays. Such an arrangement provides that if at the time the read signal is given, and any one of the lane position phototransistors sees light the inhibit latching mechanism in the lane controlled by ! that sensor pair is actuated to inhibit the stroke of the carrier, arm 30. Similarly when the ~ip disk 304 energizes a sensor the i I corresponding inhibit latch is held on until the reset pulse ¦ ~ccur~. ¦

l The remainder of the circuitry illustrated ~n Fig. 12 ¦ and 1~ proviae~ ~vr manua~ inhibition of either all of the !

-33- `

1 i~ carrier elements 30 or, ~electivelY, any giYen one. The occasion for operating the ma~ual in~ibitions 1~ t~ proYlde the same number of confection pieces in the queue ~or each lane as a backlog. ThUfi by cl~sure of contacts 311 t relay 370 is actuated and all of the 370c contac~s are actuated, to energize each of the air valves 390 through 393 inhibiting rlt one ti~e, all of the stroke movements for all of the carrier arms 30. In the event that any particular lane requires buildup of confection pieces in ' the queue then the corresponding individual one of the manually operated closure b~ttons 374 through 376 may be actuated to directly energize the corresponding inhibit latch, only for 50 long as the push button i5 depressed. Indicator lights 381 through 384 provide a vi~ual indication of whether or not the particular lane, or all of the lanes, are being inhibited.

Gripper and Stripper Control Mechanism The actuating mechanism for the gripper and stripper element~ of the loading heads is carried on the second or upper mechanism deck 34. Fig. 3 is a generally perspective represen-tation of that mechanism and the manner in which it interconnects to the control rods 514 and 515 Each of the pusher arms 30 is pivotally suspended from the bottom of the second mechanism deck 34 and carries on it a pivot plate member 600. Control rods 514 and 515 pass through ~learance holes in latch block 258 and slots in the plate fiO0, and ~onnect at the second mechanism deck level to bell cranks 601i and 604, which are pivotally supported on a mounting block 602.
I Bell crank 604 control6 the vertical motion of control rod 514 , and hence control~ the actuation of the gripper elements at the .
I loading heads 31. Bell cran~ 601 c~ntrolæ ~he Yertical mo~'on of i ~ ' .

s~ l 1 1¦ contro~ rod 515 and hen~e controls the actuation of the ~tripper ¦
l~ ele~ent~ in the loading he~d ~
l! l ! The stripper actuation bell crank 601 is driven by pull~
rod 603, which is ~tself pulled by T-bar 607. The gripper bell . cranX 604 i5 driven by a pull rod 605, which is connected at its other end to T-bar 608. The motion of the ~-bar 607 is controlled by the action of the gripper sequencing cam 611 and that of T-bar 608 i~ controlled by the stripper seq~encing cam 6100 ~hese two cams are mounted on shaft 620 which is borne by a . pair of pillow blocks 621, resting on the second m~chanism deck ~ 34. The shaft 620 is driven synchronously with shaft 201 which - drives the control cam 200 mounted on the first mechanism deck 35.
to control the stroking o the arms 30.

The arrangement for moving the T-arms 607 and 608 at the appropriate time includes a cam follower 613 following the rotation of gripper cam 611 and a similar cam follower (not ; shown) riding on the periphery of the stripper cam 610. The ! motion of these cam followers is tra~slated into horizontal move-~ ment of connecting bars 616 and 618~ which pass through mounting , I blook 615~ Connecting bar 616 is coupled to T-bar 607 and one end of T-bar 607 is supported by a tie bar 626 pivotally con~
nected at one end to the T-bar 607 and at the opposite to the block carrying the follower 613 for the gripper cam 611.
~imilarly bar 618 i~ coupled to T-bar 608 and one end of T-bar 608 i8 ~upported by a ~ie bar 625 pivotally connected at one end to it and at the opposite to the ~lock carrying the follower for cam &10.

In operation, the rotation of the cams 610 and 611 seq~ence the ~ori zontal Qotion of the connecting rods, the bell . l l ~3~ SO
I' 1 ¦ cranks ana hence the vertical ~otion of the control rods 514 and , 51~ to the respe~tive gripper and ~tripper elements. Pigs. 8B
and 8C illustrate the prec~se shape of cam~s 610 and 611 and the timing sequence of a cycle from these cams.
.
As mentioned earlier, in connection with the descrip-' ti9n of operation o~ the sequencing of the pusher arm 30, each pusher arm has an inh~bit mechanism to prevent its transportin~
conEections from the associated lane termination point under two sets of circumstances~ One circumstance is when there is no car-ton compartment adjacent to the lane termination point, but rather there is a space between the cartons. The second cir-cumstance is whenever the photosensors indicate that the lane termination point i8 not ~illed with at least three confection pieces. Under both of these circumstances the latch mechanism 1 270 prevents forward stroking motion of the arm 30, thus inhi-biting the transfer of confection pieces from the high speed con-veyor lane.

Whenever such an inhibit take place, it is alqo necessary to inhibit the action of the gripper and stripper mechanisms. This is accomplsihed by an inhibit latch mechanism on deck 34 preventing actuation of control rods 514 and 515 whenever the associated pusher arm 30 is not stroked forward.
, This mechanism includes a crank arm 632 connected between pivot plate 600 and latch stop plate 635. The latch stop plate 635 is ¦¦ slidably mounted in 3 pair of ~upporting blocks ~45 and, when the ¦¦ pusher ar~ 30 i~ in its normal, unstroked position, latch itop plate 635 i~ in i~ uppermost position where it intercepts collar¦
ele~ents 63~ fastened to each of the connecting rods 603 and 605, li preventing those ro~s fro~ ~troking f~rward. ~he collars 639 l I

i 1 !' adju~t the limit of travel of the~e rods in the reverse direc- !
I tion. Whe~ an inhi~it tak~s place, ~pring~ 64 collapse to .l accommodate the motion of the bars 607 ancl 6080 ~ension of the spring 640 is adjusted by collar~ 641.

When~ however, pusher arm 30 is stroked forward, its . . ~ , . .
motion rotates pivot plate 600 downwardly, thus lowering stop plate 63~ and enabling the actuation of the connecting rods ~03 and 605, and hence of the control rods 514 and 515. The overall .
mechanism is, therefore, one in which the three cams 600, 610, and 611 sequentially control the stroking motion of the pusher arms 30 and the gripper and stripper elements within each load head 31 to provide the sequence illustrated in Fig. 9 (A through Index Drlve Mechanism The lndex drive mechanism of the transport conveyor 11 is illustrated in Figs. 18 and 19. Fig. 18 i~ a side elevation of the drive mechanism while Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 19-19 of Fig~ 1~. The transport conveyor 11 is phased with the actuation cycl~ of the pus~her arms 30 and the loading elements 31 ~uch that an empty compartment in one of the . cartons 150 i5 stopped momentarily ~eside each of the lane ter-mination loading points 15, 16 }7 ~nd 18 at the ti~e that the ; pusher arms 30 are ~troXed to initiate the transport of confec-tion pie~es from the lane termination points ~o the cartons. The drive mechanism, then, must be arranged to move the transport ¦¦ conveyor forward a fixed distance, equal to the separation bet-¦¦ ween center lines of compartment~, and then ~top for a period~uffi~iently long for the confection pieces to be transferred ¦¦ from the lane termination point6 i~to the empty compartment of 30 . .l 11 .

carto~ on the con~eyor immediately adjacent to each lane ter ! mination point.

The mechanism for this is shown in Figs. 18 and 19, The output shaft ~50 from gear box 552 is driven by a synchronGus motor ~not shown~ and has coupled to it an eccentric element 554, ..~
which carries a ball bearing ~53 mounted in block 555O A ~on-necting arm 556 is fixed to the block 555 and pivotally connected to ratchet frame 560. The ratchet frame 560 includes two parallel plates 558 and 562 fixed to each other through bolts 564. This ratchet frame 560 is journaled on head shaft 566 through bushings 568 and on the hub of drive sprocket 572 through bushings 574, An index wheel 576 having squ~re cutout notches 578 spaced around its periphery is rotaatably mounted on ratchet .
~rame 560 and i~ keyed to drive sprocket h~b S70 through a Xeying pin 580.

A drive pawl 582 is pivotally mounted on ratchet frame : 560 and spring biased toward the ratchet index wheel 576. The drive pawl 5B2 is shaped to have its outer end fit into the notches 578 in the index wheel 576. A back stop pawl 585 is pivotally mounted to the assembly frame for the transport con- i veyor 11 and is also spring biased inwardly toward the ratchet wheel 576. The back stop pawl 585 is shaped with a squared off outer edge and a sloped inward edge which permits the notches 378 in the inde~ wheel 576 to slide by the pawl in a clockwise direc-' Il tion, but inhibits any movement of the index wheel in a coun- ¦
¦I terclockwise direction while this back stop pawl 585 is engaged Il wil:h one of the 510t8 on the index wheel 576.

¦i In ~per~tion the output drive sh~ft 5~0 rotates con-tinuously~ ther~b~ rotating the eccentric 5~4 and ~ffecting an , , j -38-I
i ll i i; . 3~L3~5~

1 ll osc~llating ~ovement of the ratchet frame 550 for each complete ~i revolution of the outeut sha~t 550. ~s a result of the oscillating action of the ratchet frame S60, the drive pawl 582, once engaged with one of the 6quare notches on the periphery of , the index wheel 576, drives that index whee'l in a clock wise direction with the clockwise oscillation motion of the ratchet frame 560 carrying the pawl~ The bacX stop pawl 585 falls into engage~ent with another notch at almost the end of the clockwise mov~m.~nt of the ratchet frame 560. On the counterclockwise oscillation of ratchet frame 560, the back stop pawl 58S engage-ment with a notch on the index wheel 576, prevents it from rotating counterclockwise, while the shape of the drive pawl, allows it to rotate in a counterclockwise,direction with respect to the index wheel 576 to fall into the next counterclockwise notch, thus being prepared to drive the index wheel in a clock-wise direction again on the next forward stroke of the ratchet ' frame 560.

', This arrangement thus provides for a stop, start I indexing of the index wheel 576 and hence of the sprocket hub 570 ;
, and the head shaft 566. Head shaft 566 carries the main conveyor ' drive sprockets (not shown) to drive the main conveyor chain pro-viding the motion for the transport conveyor 11. Rake off ' mechanism 14 is driven by sprocket 572.

!~ Dump Conveyor j' As above indicated, there are important reasons why the 1. confection manufacturing unit mus~ be operated without interrup-¦¦ tion~ For example, a typical manufacturing apparat~s, such as ¦! illustrated in Wight U S Patent No ~E. 29,477, involYes a ¦l freezing tunnel having within i a conveyor formed of individual 1 l plates ~hi~h suppor~ e~ruded and slice ice cr~m. ~he freezing jl rate must be care~ully controlled such that the ice cream is suf-~ficiently frozen at the time it exi~s the ree~ing apparatus but not overfrozen ~uch that th~ ~tackiness", which retains the ice cream on the plate, i~ lost.

.. , ; ~ , Because of considerations of the type just discussed, it is highly desirable to continue to operate the confection manufacturing portion of a total system even if the packaging or cartoning portion has a breakdown or requires servicing.
Accordingly, there is a need for an effective and convenient way of interrupting the flow of completed product to the cartoning unit while not interfer~ng with the operation of the confection ~anufacturing unit. Aceording to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ~dump conveyor~ device which is easy to operate, facilitates re-start of the cartonng operation without effect upon the manufacturing operation, and is itself easily serviceable. , The dump conveyor unit i8 illustrated in Figs. 14 through 170 The unit comprises a series of four parallel con-I veyors 400, 402, 404, and 406~ each itselP comprising a plurality (e.g., three~ of endless, flexible, elongate filaments 408 trained about a series of rollers 410, 412, 414, 416, (a through d~, 417, ~18, and 420. The system of rollers 410, 414~ 417 and ~ 420 are bearing mounted on plate 422 ~uch th~t each of these ¦I rollers has a substantially horizontal axis and the o~her en~s of jl thece rollers are journaled in a second plate 423 ~upported by a Il series of suppor~ rods ~25 extending between plates 42~ and pla-¦, tes ~23. Roller ~12 i~ supported in a notch in block 424 ¦1 oriented such tba~ the ~ension of the belts 408 maintains the li !1 !
3~5~ 1 , . , 1 ¦, roller in ~ts pos~tion. ~oller 118 i~ similarly ~ounted. Thus fil~ment ~2 can be easily re~oved and installed on the outside ~! of the roller system over the ~ide plate 423 which is essentially¦
cantilever supported from plate 422~ This c~nstruction facilita-~
., tes convenient removal and replacement of the filamen~s 4080 Each of the rollers 416 a through 416d is placed in astaggered position in the direction of conveyor movement with a displacement equal to the displacement of the lane termination , points on the high speed conveyor 1~ so that each lane of the dump conveyor unit terminates immediately adjacent the beginning of the corresponding lane on the higher speed conveyor. These rollers 416 are rotatably mounted on rods 415 which are slidably carried in slotted plates 431. Rods 415 are positioned by a series of collars and rods 427 extending from transverse rod 429 , which is itselE carried between sliding blocks 426. Th0 outer- I
I most positioning rods 411 and 413 are carried directly by sliding. ?
. blocks 426.

j In one presently preferred embodiment, each of the ~ fi}aments 408 consists of a flexible, but substantially not l~ 6tretchable, endless loop of rubber often referred to in the 1 trade as an ~0-ringn.
i.
.~ ~eferring ~ore particularly to the system of rollers 410~420, in the preferred embodiment illustrated the roller 410 is a drive roller and the rollers 414 and 416 are at the same height in order to define a run of the conveyor filaments 40B
which is substantially hori~ontal and which actually con.~.eys th2 confection rom the roller 414 (which in operation will be p1aced adjacent the ter~inal roller of the confection manufacturin4 ¦ apparatus conveyor~ to each of the rol}ers fl~ ~which in opera~

~ -41--I '!L13{~50 1 1 tion will ~e ~nitially located adjacent the initial roller of l,' conveyor lane in the cartoning apparatus).
i!
The position of roller~ 416 ta through d) are shiftable relative to the fixed supports 42~ and 423 and the fixed rollers 410, 414, 4~7 and 420 by the shifting of blocks 426 and their cross connecting element 429, A cross-shaft 42B ss p~votally mounted in the plates 422 and 423. The ar~s 430 which extend out of the shaft 42B pass ~lidably through the connector blocks 432 which are pivotally connected through pins 433 to the sliding 1~ blocks 426 on each side. The ro~ary motion of the cross haft 428 is controlled by its link 435 and its connected double acting air cylinder 436.

With the structure as described abovel in ~he normal ; operating condition the dump conveyor simply conveys four parallel streams of confections along the conveying tracks 400, 402, ~04, and 406 as most clearly appears in Fig. 1. Tbe confec tions are deposited on the groups of filaments 408 at the nip between roller 414 and the terminal roller of the manufact~ring portion of the apparatus. After traversing the run of conveyor ;
; between rollers 414 and 416, the confections are delivered to the high speed conveyor of the cartoning apparatus at the nip between i rollers 416 and the adjacent rollers 118 of the cartoning appara-tus conveyor. This situation ~s shown in Figs. 14 and 15. In ~; the event of a malfunction of the cartoning apparatus~ the . .
! p~eumatic cylinder 436 can be ac~uated to drive the movable sup-jportQ 426 to the left as ~iewed in Figures 16 and 17, thereby remov-ng the rollers 416 from their location immedia~ely adiacent ¦
j, the roller~ 118 of t~e carton;ng ~pparatus conveyor. The result ~ , o~ course, that the confections being conYeyed alon~ ~racks I! !
-q2- , i 3~

1 1 400, ~D2, 40~, ~06 3re redirected, in that they fall verti~ally as th~y reach the r~ller 4~6, ana a waste container provided therebelow collects the produ~ thus ~ped. The degree o~ left-ward move~ent of the support ~26 should be suffieient to provide clearance between the rollers 416 and the cartoning apparatus to assure that no confections will be delivered to the cartoning apparatus while it is being remedied. Preferably, the retrac~ed position is such that the rollers 416 are slightly to the right, as viewed in Fig. 16, of the vertical run of fila~ents 408 extending between rollers 410 and 420. This positioning assures that the dumped confections will not foul or otherwise interfere with the dump conveyor mechanism.

; When it is desired to reinitiate the packaging opera~
tion, the piston and cylinder 436 is actuated in the reverse direction to drive the supports 426 and their rollers 416 and 418 to the positions as illustrated in Figs. 14 and 15. As supports 426 carrying rod 429 and roller 418, move between their two posi-tions as controlled by the air cylinder, essentially no change in . filament length is encountered, likewise no slippage of the fila-ments on any roller is required. In comparing the total belt lengths ~hown in the two positions, Figure 1~ and Figure 16, it can be seen that the change in belt length between rollers 414 and 416 is compensated for by a substantially equal and off-. setting change of length between rollers 418 and 420. The length ; between rollers 416 and 418, like all other bel~ sections does i not change. During the shifting operation, rollers 416 and 418roll in their end bearing as the length transfer is taking place.
Il As r~l~ers 416 ~ove from the dump to the operate position, the ¦l syste~. adds bel~ ~nto the horizontal run of conveyor ahead of any ; product wh~ch ha~ n~t been dumped, pr~ucing a v~id in the flow 1, ' ! 43_ 1~

1 ~ as rollers ~16 ~ove lnto position to feed the cartoner. T~i~
assures no confection piece ~ill ~e pinched ~5 it tries to go ~, over the ed~æ as the conveyors come together. This feature of the dump conYeyor accordins to the present invention is highly desirable since lt permits instantaneous ancl auto~atic reini-tiation of ~he cartoning operationa Absent this feature, it can be appreciated that with confections being continuously dumped I sver the edge of rollers 41~ (at a typical rate of 600 confec-tions per minute)~ repositioning the rollers 416 adjacent the mating rollers of the cartoning unit would be subject to wedging of confections between the conveyors of the dump conveyor unit ~1 and the cartoning apparatus, leading to fouling of the conveyors.
To facilitate this feature the actuation speed in changing the conveyor configuration from the ~dump~ position to the normal position should be rapid with respect to the running velosity of the filaments.

The position of the rollers 416 in each of the lanes~
400 through 406 is displaced by the same distance as the d$spla-cemen~ of the lane termination points 15 throagh 19 on the high speed conveyor 12. This assures that after a ~dump" operation, , the confections in each lane travel an equal distance and fill up the queues a~ the lane termination points simultaneously.

As will be understood from the foregoing discussion, the dump conveyor apparatus as described not only facilitates ,j rapid and efficient isolation of the cartoning apparatus and sub-¦jsequent reinitiation of the cartoning procedure, but further j¦fa~ilitates the convenient and ef~ieient serviciny of the dumpconveyor it~elf. Thus, as suggested above, with the cantilevered I arrangement of r~llers and the trunnioned support of rollers 41~ ¦

.
..

!~ and 418, ~11 filaments ~0~ ~n be quickly and conveniently . removed over the ~?late 423 o the ~ide o~ tbe app~ra'~us without , any Jn~jor disassen~ly ,: :

... .

ill , I ,.
1. .

l~5-

Claims (22)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Apparatus for transporting confection pieces from a confection production apparatus and packing said pieces in rectilinear arrays within containers comprising, product transport means for conveying in a first plane in a first direction parallel columns of individual confection pieces along individual lanes to a series of individual lane termination points, each of said lane termination points being displaced from one another in said first direction, container transport means for conveying a plurality of said containers in parallel columns moving in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction, said transport means moving said containers underneath the plane of said product transport means, and loading means for ejecting said confection pieces from said lane termination points into said containers, wherein each of said containers are to include a series of parallel rows of confection pieces, said containers being positioned on said container transport means such that said rows are parallel to said product transport lanes, said container rows being spaced apart by a distance A, said product lanes being spaced apart by a distance N times A, where N is an integer.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of containers in each column is spaced apart from the adjacent containers in said column by a distance M
times A, where M is any integer.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said product transport means comprises, a series of high speed con-

Claim 3 continued...

veyor belts, and wherein said loading means includes at each lane termination point a loader-ejection mechanism moving from a rest position substantially above and aligned with said lane to a discharge position displaced from said initial position in said second direction, and wherein said loader ejection element includes a lane termination stop element positioned to inter-cept confection pieces moving along said lane and stop their motion at said termination point.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein all of said loader-ejection elements are actuated simultaneously in timed relationship to the motion of said containers on said container transport conveyor so that each of said loader-ejection elements is positioned in said second position only when a row of said containers is directly beneath it.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further including container removal means positioned above said container transport means and displaced from said loading means in said second direction, said container removal means having elements for removing said confection loaded containers from said con-tainer transport means to an output station.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein said container removal means comprises a conveyor carrying a series of paddles in a path having a container-engaging segment that has a component of motion in the direction of movement of said container transport means and a component perpendicular thereto.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said containers are compartmented into said series of parallel rows by internal divider elements.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said product transport means includes first and second conveyor sections serially aligned in said first direction, said first conveyor section being movable between first and second operating positions, said first operating position being arranged so that said first conveyor section conveys said confection product in said first direction onto conveyor lanes in said second section, to transport said confection pieces to said lane termination points, and wherein the second operating position of said first conveyor section is arranged to divert confection product from said second section.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said first conveyor section includes as said conveying element at least one endless loop moving in a path trained over at least three rollers, at least one of said rollers having the same position in space in both, no matter which of said first and second positions said first conveyor section occupies, and at least two rollers being arranged to change their position in space when said first section is moved from said first operating position to said second operating position, a first one of said movable position rollers being located immediately adjacent to the beginning of said second conveyor section when said first conveyor section is in said first operating position.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 9 wherein said endless loop moves over said roller adjacent to said second section in said first direction and wherein said first conveyor section changes from said first operating position to said second operating position by moving said first roller from its position adjacent the beginning of said second section in a direction generally opposite said first direction, and

Claim 10 continued....

wherein said first conveyor section moves from said second operating position to its first position by moving said first roller generally in said first direction to its position adjacent the beginning of said second section, the velocity of movement changing the position of said roller toward the beginning of said second section being at high velocity relative to the velocity of movement of said loop over said roller.

11. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 and further including sensing means for determining when confection pieces are not properly positioned in each of said loading positions an inhibit means for each loading means responsive to said sensing means signal to prevent actuation of said loading means when confections are not properly positioned in said loading position.

12. Apparatus in accordance with claim 12 wherein said sensing means comprises photosensor means for passing a light beam through said confection loading position and for sensing the reception of said light beam at a photosensor as an indication of an improperly positioned confection in that load position.

13. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein each of said individual lanes in said second conveyor section begin at position displaced from one another in said first direction by distances equal to the displacements in said first direction of their respective lane termination points.

14. Apparatus in accordance with claim 13 wherein each individual lane in said first conveyor section in said first operating position, terminates immediately adjacent where the corresponding lane in said second section begins.

15. Apparatus for transferring confection pieces from a confection production apparatus and packing said pieces in rectilinear arrays within containers comprising, product transport means for conveying in a first plane in a first direction parallel columns of individual confection pieces along individual lanes to a series of individual lane termination points, each of said lane termination points being displaced from one another in said first direction, container transport means for conveying a plurality of said containers in parallel columns moving in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction, said transport means moving said containers underneath the plane of said product transport means, each of said containers including a series of parallel rows of confection pieces, said containers being positioned on said container transport means such that said rows are parallel to said product transport lanes, said container rows being spaced apart by a distance A, said product lanes being spaced apart by a distance N times A, where N is an integer, loading means for ejecting said confection pieces from said lane termination points into said containers, said loading means including gripper means for gripping said confection pieces at each of said lane termination points and for carrying said confection pieces in said second direction away from said lane termination point to a second position above one of said con-tainers, and stripper means for stripping said connection pieces from said gripper means when they are positioned above said con-tainers to thereby eject said confection pieces from said gripper means into said containers.

16. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15 and further in-cluding means for returning said loading means to said first

Claim 16 continued ....

position over the lane termination point and for opening said gripper means when said loading means is returned to said first position, and actuating means for actuating said stripping means to eject said confection pieces, only when said confection pieces are positioned above said containers.

17. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15 and further including arm means carrying said grippers and said strippers, said arm means being actuated to swing away from said lane termination point from a first position above said lane ter-mination point in said second direction to a second position above said containers and thereafter to return to said first position.

18; Apparatus in accordance with claim 16 and further including arm means carrying said gripper and said strippers, said arm means being actuated to move from a first position above one of said lane termination points in said second direction to a second position above said container and then to return from said second position to said first position, wherein said gripper means is actuated to grip said confection pieces upon movement of said arm away from said first position, and said means for actuating said strippers is operated to eject said confection pieces when said arm is in said second position, and said means for opening said grippers is actuated when said arm returns to said first position.

19. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15 wherein said gripper means has associated with each lane termination point a first gripper element formed of an extended plate on one side of said lane and a second gripper element formed of a plurality of sections extending in said first direction in generally parallel confrontation with said first gripper element, said

Claim 19 continued ....

sections being individually movable toward said first element to provide gripping of confection pieces of varying widths.

20. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15 and including gripper actuation means for lowering said gripper means with said gripped confection pieces toward said containers prior to said stripper means ejecting said confection pieces.

21. Apparatus in accordance with claim 20 wherein said stripper means is extended downwardly below said lowered position of said gripping means to eject said confection pieces.

22. Apparatus in accordance with claim 21 wherein after said stripper means is extended downwardly, said gripper means is first vertically retracted and said stripper means is then subsequently retracted vertically.